Just over one month away from end of the 45-day window for teams to sign Rōki Sasaki, the Los Angeles Dodgers are still viewed as the frontrunner for the 23-year-old among people around MLB.

Per ESPN's Buster Olney, the Dodgers are "probably" the betting favorite for Sasaki right now.

Sasaki was officially posted for MLB teams on Dec. 9, making him eligible to sign any time between now and Jan. 23.

Joel Wolfe, Sasaki's agent, told reporters at the winter meetings his client will likely sign not long after the 2025 international free-agent period opens on Jan. 15.

"The incentive to sign as early as possible is to get the visa process going so that he would be on time for spring training," Wolfe said.

Being classified as part of the 2025 international class does allow for more teams to present Sasaki with better offers, though he is still limited in what he can earn based on the amount clubs have in their assigned bonus pool.

The bonus money ranges from $5.1 million to $7.6 million. The Dodgers are one of two teams tied for the lowest bonus allotment, along with the San Francisco Giants.

In a survey of executives around the league conducted by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, the Dodgers and San Diego Padres were voted as the two teams most-likely to sign Sasaki. Los Angeles led the responses with 11 votes, followed by the Padres with seven. No other team received more than one vote.

There were rumblings early in the offseason that Sasaki already had an agreement in place with the Dodgers, but Wolfe vehemently denied the allegation.

"While a bunch of executives who should know me better and do a lot of business with me insult my integrity by insinuating that I would be a part of some type of nefarious agreement," Wolfe told The Athletic's Evan Drellich, "in reality, this is just poor sportsmanship."

Any type of deal like that would be in violation of MLB rules and result in significant punishment for the organization, including fines, suspensions and loss of future signing rights.

The Dodgers have had good luck signing anyone they want, but particularly international free agents. It was just one year ago they won the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes by giving him a 12-year, $325 million contract.

Even though MLB rules prevent Sasaki from earning anything close to that on his first contract, the Dodgers still feel like they will be the landing spot when he makes his ultimate decision.

Sasaki has spent the past four seasons pitching for Chiba Lotte in NPB. He went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111 innings pitched during the 2024 campaign.